Dane Davidson
Dane Davidson is the Premier of the mysterious Free Republic of Montfort, and a Red who possesses a superhuman ability due to a mutation. Biography Early History Davidson was born and raised in the Kingdom of Norta and was later conscripted to fight in the Nortan Army against the Kingdom of The Lakelands. It was during this time he discovered he was a Red with a Silver ability to project force fields. Declared a criminal due to his "abnormal" nature and scheduled to be executed by his legion, Davidson escaped, and his superior officers marked him as deceased on official military records so they didn't have to explain another newblood survival. Davidson fled to Montfort, a mountain nation far away from Norta, collecting other newbloods along the way to save them from execution. On arrival, he found Montfort in ruin, with a thousand Silver princes claiming their own territories and the country splintered beyond recognition. Davidson was quick to see that only Reds stood united, and "Ardents" (what Newbloods are called in Montfort) were ready to strike back. It is implied Davidson united the Reds and Ardents together as an army and forcibly established a democratic republic - building a Free Republic from the ashes of brutal oppression by Silvers. It is now supposedly "a haven of liberty and equality, where Reds, Silvers, and Ardents live in peace together", but remains well guarded and hidden by its location in the mountains and by his people's specially designed walls. Davidson was chosen by his people to lead them, and serves as their Premier. Davidson is dedicated to overthrowing oppressive Silver rulers and bringing equality and fair treatment to all Reds living in Norta, the Lakelands, Piedmont and other Silver dominated kingdoms, as well as expanding Montfort's democracy. For the next 20 years, he built an army and a fleet to overthrow the Silver kingdoms surrounding Montfort. He also embraced a policy of "divide and conquer" when it came to the more powerful Silvers, to infiltrate, control, and overthrow opposing kingdoms in acts of armed rebellion (at the same time it open to working with Silvers, in whatever capacity, to reach their goals). Red Queen Mare Barrow notes Davidson's name on Julian Jacos' list of newbloods; his entry reads "Dane Davidson, Red soldier, Storm Legion, killed on routine patrol, body never recovered. August 1, 296 NE" Glass Sword Davidson is mentioned by newblood twins Rash and Tahir to infamous Scarlet Guard operative Mare Barrow. Davidson is identified as the leader of the Republic, who sent Rash and Tahir to Tuck Island as ambassadors of Montfort, to extend a hand of friendship to the Scarlet Guard. Colonel Willis Farley willingly accepted this alliance, as well as his superiors the Red Generals of Command. As explained by the twins, Montfort has allied with similar rebel groups and subsets in nations across the continent, forming a complex network with the Republic as the hub. They offer safe passage to any of the newbloods with the Guard to Montfort and sanctuary in freedom in the country, but Davidson specifically requests that Mare escort them in return - recognizing the infamous rebel as a firebrand in her own right, and will be of great help to the coming war against King Maven Calore, Davidson asks Mare to join Montfort, further offering Mare command of her own unit, with handpicked newbloods at her side. Having no wish to act as a puppet to another side in the conflict, Mare declines as she is needed with the Guard, but doesn't deny any other newbloods who wish to go with them. Mare informs the twins to tell Davidson she cannot be bought with promises, but with action against Maven she will be swayed to his side. King's Cage Montfort provides funding, supplies and support to the Guard after the capture of Mare by Maven's forces and the Guard's infiltration of Corvium, the central fortress of the Nortan military - according to Cameron Cole most of the Guard's resources come from Montfort in some way. They also take an interest in Prince Tiberias Calore "Cal" VII, the fugitive crown prince of Norta, a Silver general and it's rightful king who is now the Guard's most well known and legitimate operative. Montfort wishes to use Cal, like Mare, as a "poster boy" and are in discussions with Command about it. According to Captain Diana Farley, Montfort and Command want Cal with the Guard "at almost any cost", increasing his standing in the rebel army. After Corvium is taken by the Guard, Montfort increases it's involvement in the Guard's organization and insurrection against Maven's rule - previously Montfort and the Guard did not communicate openly and did not share operations. After Maven's alliance with the Lakelands against the Guard, Montfort made its own alliance with Guard and started supplying soldiers as well as equipment and weapons. Montfort also wanted Mare rescued from captivity, and so helped organize a raid, commanded by Cal, on Archeon to rescue Mare and other forcibly conscripted newbloods and raid a large amount of the Nortan Treasury. Afterwards, the Guard moved to Piedmont and occupied a Piedmont royal fleet base under Montfort's control. Davidson personally comes to the base along with six of his generals, and attends Mare's debriefing. He enters with Cal's uncle Julian, who he recognizes as a smart man for his discovery of newbloods in Norta - he later has his generals be very accommodating where he is concerned; giving him access to the base archives, a laboratory, and all the time he wants to continue his newblood studies. As explained by a gracious and respectful Davidson, Montfort concentrated their efforts on Piedmont due to its precarious structure - they were able to make the current High Prince of Piedmont; Bracken of the Lowcountry, work for Montfort and the Guard's interests and cede the base - the grandest of the three military fortresses in his possession - to their personal use after his children, Prince Michael and Princess Charlotta were kidnapped to ensure his cooperation. While Davidson personally hated such tactics, he supported them as doing so gave Montfort and the Guard control of coastal Piedmont and all of it's resources against Maven. When Bracken's sworn allies Prince Daraeus and Alexandret were secretly sent to obtain the children's location from Mare while she was in captivity, Davidson became aware after the assassination attempt on Maven that claimed Alexandret's life. Davidson had Daraeus killed for working against them. When House Samos rebels against Maven, declares independence from Norta and forms its own Kingdom of the Rift, Davidson and the other Montfort and Guard leaders maintain channels of communication with a begrudging King Volo Samos. Davidson is also contacted by Cal's grandmother, Queen Anabel Lerolan, who considers him a reasonable man - Anabel negotiates with Davidson, and finds Montfort is eager to ally themselves with Silver king. Davidson agreed to have Montfort support a war of restoration of Norta in the name of Tiberias VII, allied with Royal Silvers from Norta led by Queen Anabel and the Rift by King Volo. Davidson personally takes part in the battle of Corvium against Maven's counterattack. After the battle is won, he is present with the Guard and Montfort leadership that meets with House Samos in Corvium's administrative tower. He witnesses Salin Iral's humiliating dismissal by King Volo and receives the news of King Orrec Cygnet's death. He then witnesses Cal's impressive speech uniting them to change the existing social order between Reds and Silvers in Norta, and defeat his psychotic brother. Davidson then personally addresses King Volo, thanking him for his aid in the defense of Corvium, and has him publicly confirm they are allied in a common cause against Maven and ending mistreatment of Reds. When Anabel and Volo publicly reveal their intentions to restore Cal to Norta's throne, Davidson publicly pledges Montfort to back the installment of King Tiberias VII. After the meeting, Davidson confirms with Mare that Cal's installment is part of his policy to "divide and conquer" - Montfort and the Scarlet Guard would never support a Silver king, not truly. Not without other motives in play. Montfort has its own plan in motion and Mare suspects they will allow the Silvers of the Rift, Norta and the Lakelands to kill each other. In ''War Storm, ''Davidson hosts a delegation from Norta at his home alongside his husband Carmadon. Their dinner is interrupted by raiders, and he goes with the Nortans to fight them off. After Tiberias VII assumes the throne, Davidson breaks off Montfort relationships with Norta along with the Scarlet Guard. He then kidnaps the former king, Maven, using the teleporter Arezzo. Davidson later supports a full-scale assault by Montfort and the Scarlet Guard on Archeon, attempting to take the city. Davidson hosts Evangeline and Elane, as foreign dignitaries, in his home for over a month after the Nortan Civil War. He encourages Elane to join his staff as an aide, utilizing her shadow abilities. In October 321 NE, he hosts a delegation of Nortan State representatives, Scarlet Guard generals, and Montfort officials in his library. The meeting was originally to hash out details about the coalition, but quickly devolved into an argument over the reformation of the Nortan States. The coalition stayed in Davidson's home for another week. At the end of their stay, he hosted a gala in a Montfort ballroom before seeing them off. Personality He is described as having a firm way of speaking, with a natural conviction. He is highly intelligent, and is a genius in politics and strategy. He is a strong man who capably hides his people's secrets and ambitions to end corrupt Silver dictatorship. Physical description Davidson is a man of East Asian heritage, six feet tall, with pale and sandy skin. His hair is gray, and the first time Mare sees him, he is wearing civilian clothing. Everything about his appearance is "decidedly neutral, pleasantly average, and unassuming"; he maintains a blank, empty and unreadable expression by design. His only remarkable feature are his wild, angled, intelligent eyes, taking in everything for observation and understanding. According to Mare, he is "the kind of man who gets more attractive with the years". According to Evangeline Samos he has "the look of a predator, never blinking, never distracted". Abilities and skills Dane has the mutation that grants him a Silver-like ability despite having Red blood. As a result, he has the ability to generate vibrant blue force fields. He has also been known to use his ability to imprison his enemies in a cage of shields. His ability is very powerful, as it allows him to create long-lasting, impenetrable shields over ten feet wide. Relationships Dane is married to a Silver named Carmadon. Trivia * Victoria Aveyard confirmed in a Tumblr ask that Davidson, along with Larentia Viper and Evangeline Samos, is of East Asian descent. References pl:Dane Davidson * https://twitter.com/victoriaaveyard/status/864157417373814784 * https://vaveyard.tumblr.com/post/157204431645/is-evangelines-mother-asian-i-read-her Category:Characters Category:King's Cage characters Category:War Storm characters Category:Red Category:Newblood Category:Broken Throne characters